Measles, mumps, whooping cough, rotavirus

Rotavirus vaccine to be deployed for infants...Babies to get 'gut bug vaccine'10 November 2012 - Prof David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation, DoH: "We expect this will save around £20m"

Babies in the UK are to be vaccinated against a tummy bug which causes tens of thousands of cases of vomiting and diarrhoea each year. Rotavirus infection is rarely fatal in the UK. Using the vaccine has cut cases and reduced hospital admissions in other countries, including the US. The Department of Health said the vaccine would be offered from September 2013 and would be given in two doses after two and three months. The bug is very infectious and causes about 140,000 cases every year in the under-fives. About 14,000 will need hospital treatment. Experts believe that vaccination would cut the number of cases in half and lead to 70% fewer hospital visits.

Distress

Prof David Salisbury, the director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said the virus "spreads very easily" and causes distress for children and families. "Many people think of diarrhoea as something that all children get and that you have to put up with. But there is a way to protect children from this. I'd encourage all parents of young children to accept this vaccine when the programme begins next year." He added the vaccine - which is administered in drops - had been "used very extensively" with "huge trials demonstrating both its safety and its effectiveness". It is expected to cost £25m a year to vaccinate 840,000 children a year. However, the government believes cutting the number of cases will save the NHS £20m.

Prof Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, said: "Rotavirus causes large epidemics of diarrhoea and vomiting in babies and young children every winter and with it, misery for thousands of families across the country. "I'm pleased that another unpleasant illness that affects most children is going to be brought under control. It will also help hospitals cope in the busy winter months by reducing pressure on beds and front-line staff."

Dr David Elliman, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the vaccine would prevent a "huge amount of suffering" and save the NHS money. "This vaccine will mean less pressure both on distressed parents who have to care for their children and of course the GPs and hospital services who are treating them," he said.

The dirty little secret of immigrants and refugees. If you use your search engine you'll get very PC articles by the US health department...and it's the same for UK and any western nation as it is here....but way down in the bowels of the article...they'll mention, un-vaccinated third worlders moving into western nations. They don't just affect us in jobs and the economy.

Until some infected refugee kid reintroduces it...Americas region is world's first to be free of measlesWednesday 28th September, 2016: Measles has been eradicated from the Americas due to decades of vaccination efforts, making it the first region of the world to rid itself of the disease, global health authorities said Tuesday (Sep 27).

"Endemic transmission of measles has been eliminated from the region," said World Health Organisation director Margaret Chan. "The Americas region has shown that with strong national immunisation programs... dedicated financing and strong political commitment and partner support, measles can be stopped," she added, describing it as "an outstanding achievement."

Measles is now the fifth vaccine-preventable disease to be eliminated in the Americas, after smallpox, polio, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, according to a statement from the Pan American Health Organization. The end of endemic transmission means the virus is no longer commonly spread locally, although imported cases may still lead to isolated outbreaks. The region of the Americas reported its last endemic case in 2002. "However, since measles continues to circulate worldwide, some countries continued to report imported cases," said the PAHO statement.

Over the past year, from August 2015 to August 2016, all countries in the Americas showed documentation that endemic measles had been wiped out to the International Committee of Experts for Documentation and Verification of Measles, Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Elimination in the Americas. Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat of an infected person, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Severe complications can occur, particularly in children, and lead to death by pneumonia or brain swelling.

A vaccine became widely available in 1963, but the virus has proven difficult to eradicate. In recent years, measles outbreaks have risen in some parts of the United States and Europe where parents have refused to vaccinate their children. "It is my hope that other regions of the world are encouraged by the success of the Americas," said Chan. "And that the lessons learned here serve them as they move forward toward their own elimination goals."